


Lost (cars) and found (friends)

by Mother_of_Eevees



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 04:17:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19055077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mother_of_Eevees/pseuds/Mother_of_Eevees
Summary: Kuroo loses his car at the mall; Tsukishima works at the concierge desk and helps him find it.





	Lost (cars) and found (friends)

Kuroo Tetsurou doesn’t hate all malls. Just this one.

He had spent several hours wandering through the stores, ate some decent ramen at the food court, and picked up gifts for his friends. Akaashi had given him an extensive shopping list and he had managed to get almost everything on it. Now, he just wanted to go back to his hotel, but he had forgotten which escalator he took from the underground parking lot, let alone where he had parked. He thought he had explored the whole mall, but this area didn’t look familiar...because it was suddenly a children’s play area. 

He turned around and retraced his steps until he saw a concierge desk. The woman at the counter spoke enough Japanese to tell him she didn’t speak Japanese well and she’d get someone to help him.

She spoke into her headset and gestured for Kuroo to sit on one of the hanging couches.

A moment later, a tall blond with glasses walked up to the counter. He spoke to the woman and then headed to Kuroo, holding a can of green tea. Kuroo took the can, popped the tab and drank it down gratefully. The man lifted an eyebrow at him.

“I was actually going to drink that myself, but apparently you needed it more than I did,” he said. 

Kuroo blushed, jumped to his feet, and bowed apologetically. “I’m so sorry! I guess all the sunshine here got to me,” he replied. “I can’t remember where I parked, and this place is kind of a maze,”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll grab another from the desk. It’s easy to get turned around here, but why didn’t you just get a ride through one of those rideshare apps?” asked the young man.

“I just got my license last year, so I figured I could use the practice. Drivers here are very different, and I like the challenge of driving on the wrong side of the road,” Kuroo grinned and the blond raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Well, you’re braver than I am. Or you will be once I get you back to your car. I’m Tsukishima, by the way. May I see your parking ticket?”

Kuroo reached for the ticket, and found...nothing. He frowned. “That’s odd. I know I had it when I got here,” He patted his pockets and pulled out several receipts, then spent several minutes searching before looking at Tsukishima. “It’s either in my car or I managed to lose it somewhere in the mall.” He smiled ingratiatingly at Tsukishima. “Oops.”

The blond snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Tsukki, you wound me!”

“Don’t call me Tsukki. What’s your name, by the way?”

“I’m Kuroo Tetsurou - thanks again for your help.”

“I’ll get the keys to the cart and then we’ll find this car of yours.” Tsukishima headed to the desk, collected a set of keys and returned to the bench where Kuroo was lounging. “Ready?” he said, bending to pick up Kuroo’s shopping bags.

“Oya, no need to do that, I can carry my own shopping!”

“It’s all part of the exceptional service we provide here at the megamall,” Tsukishima said dryly. “But if you want to carry your own purchases, I’m not going to stop you,”

“Fine, you can carry this bag,” Kuroo said, handing over a giant shopping bag filled with clothes for Akaashi. “And also these. Almost all of them are presents for my friends.”

“Do your friends know that they can buy clothes in Japan?” remarked Tsukishima as they headed for the nearest escalator. 

“They do,” Kuroo snorted. “But Akaashi has a thing for Supreme, so when I found it here I had to get it for him,” 

“Fair enough. Now, do you remember how many levels down you parked?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m on level 2,” Kuroo said as they went down the first set of escalators. 

“That doesn’t inspire confidence,” muttered Tsukishima, adjusting his grip on the handle of the largest bag.

xx

“So, what brings you to California?” Tsukishima said as he loaded Kuroo’s shopping bags on to the back of the cart.

“I’m here for the college volleyball championships, they’re - “

“Starting on Wednesday, down in Long Beach,” Tsukishima interrupted him.

“That’s right, how did you know?”

“I play volleyball for my college team.”

“What! So do I. I’m a middle blocker.”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow and Kuroo grinned.

“What, you are too?”

“What an interesting coincidence.”

Xx

“Do you miss living in Japan?”

“Some things more than others. My family moved to the US when I was in high school, and now I’m studying vertebrate paleontology at the local university. Have you been to the Natural History Museum yet?”

“No, I just got in a couple of days ago. Is it good?”

“Not bad. I’m doing a research internship there this semester, so I spend a lot of time there, and also at the La Brea Tar Pits,”

“Oh, that sounds really cool! Tell me about your research,”

“Seriously?”

“Yes! I’m a chemistry major myself, but I’ve read about the Tar Pits and it sounds really cool!” 

“Well, they’re building a new subway line here in Los Angeles, and they’re finding all sorts of fossils as they’re digging….”

xx

They drove slowly around the parking lot, talking about volleyball, dinosaurs, prehistoric mammals, and college. They passed Kuroo’s car several times, but they didn’t even notice, they were so engrossed in their discussion. As they began their fourth lap around the lot, Tsukishima’s phone buzzed, startling them both.

“You probably have to get back to work, don’t you? I’m sorry I distracted you from finding my car,”

Tsukishima glanced at the phone, “They are wondering where I am, but it’s okay. It can be hard to find cars in a mall parking lot, especially if they’re rental cars.” He cast a sidelong glance at Kuroo. “It’s more fun to talk to you than most people I meet on the job.”

“If I have to be lost in parking lot, I’m glad it’s with you, Tsukki,” Kuroo glanced at the rental car key tag in his hand, then down the row of cars “Hey, that’s my car!”

“At least you were right about what floor you parked on,” Tsukishima remarked, as they finished loading shopping bags in the trunk.

“And here’s my parking ticket!” crowed Kuroo. “I left it in the car after all.”

“Now you’re definitely exceeding expectations,” said Tsukishima, handing him another ticket. “This is a parking validation. If you spend over a certain amount, parking is free.”

“You know, if you’re interested, I have an extra ticket for the volleyball tournament….”

“I’d like that,” said the blond, after a pause. "And I can get us in to the Antarctic Dinosaurs exhibit at the Natural History Museum..."

“It's a date! Here's my phone, put your number in so I can text you," said Kuroo, handing his phone to Tsukishima.

"Oya oya, your full name is Tsukishima Kei?" Kuroo grinned as Tsukishima handed back his phone. "Kei-kun, I can't wait to see you again!"

Tsukishima wrinkled his nose and look on his face made Kuroo laugh. "Ugh, no, please don't call me that."

"Fine, whatever you say. I'll text you, ok?" Kuroo started the car and backed out of his parking space. "Thanks again, Tsukki. I'd be...lost without you!"

Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> They really are building a new subway line here in Los Angeles, and they're finding all sorts of cool fossils, which will eventually end up in the Natural History Museum. The Antarctic Dinosaurs exhibit is real and runs through January 2020.
> 
> The NCAA men's volleyball championships were held in Long Beach, California this year. My favorite local team got a bid, but didn't make it to the finals. Still proud of them!
> 
> If you've read this far, thanks and I hope you enjoyed it! Kudos and comments are always appreciated. 
> 
> I'm @infogal on twitter.


End file.
